Customer Reviews
The Luthiers bible - By: Mr. D. M. Coulson, 25 Mar 2008 
If this book was the only one in existance it would'nt matter it's got it alll.and like other reviewers wish now I'd made this my first choice,the other four or five books I bought on guitar making were good but this one book not only gives a great overview with plans as well but also histories of some of the most noted master guitar makers with their preferred or self invented guitar construction techniques that collectively have made the classical acoustic guitar the great instrument that it is today
This is the one! - By: , 13 Mar 2006 I started making classical guitars about three years ago to fulfill a lifetime's ambition. Over this time I have bought six books on the subject, this being the last. If only I had known I could have saved myself a lot of heart-ache & frustration. In my opinion, if you want to make a classical guitar, THIS IS THE ONE! All the best of luck & have fun.
Making Master Guitars - By: Geoffrey Needham, 10 Jun 2005 This wonderful book is well written by an author who reallly knows his subject. I have played classical guitar for many years & have wanted to build one for myself, being unlikely to ever be able to afford a real 'Master Guitar'.
Having read several other well known texts, I was finallly inspired to start by studying Courtnalll's book. The resulting instrument took 6 months to make & while not cosmeticallly perfect, is a fine sounding guitar, livelier & more playable than many I have tried in a long time.
Highly recommended
A book well worth owning - By: , 29 Oct 2002 I held back on buying Making Master Guitars for a while, thinking that it was too expensive. I thought I could rely on some of my older books for guitar information. Finallly, I was given Making Master Guitars as a gift for my birthday, & I can only say that I wish I had bought it two years ago. What I like most is the clear way that the guitar making instructions are written - nothing is taken for granted, & this makes it relatively easy for anyone to follow the stages in making a guitar. Also of use are alll the chapters on famous makers - both about their lives, & the plans of their guitars. A great book.
Excellent resource - recommended - By: Escribano, 24 Sep 2002 
OK, it's a little expensive but pretty much everything you need is here: famous guitar makers, fabulous guitars, scale plans, close-up details, info on tools, materials & step-by-step instructions. Definitely readable & makes no assumptions about skills, it suits a newcomer like me.
Design & make your own rosette, build a replica master guitar, find out about the wood. Equip your shop.
I have read it twice & am about to build from it. You might like to send off for full-size plans of the guitar you want to build as this saves you scaling the page plans up. Address in the back.
My only tiny criticism is that the instructions can be a little obtuse, something like "the end of the sloping edge". I assume this will be clearer when one actuallly tries building.
